


a love letter unwritten

by scensate



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, an excuse for me to poorly wax poetic about seokmin's smile
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:55:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24922690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scensate/pseuds/scensate
Summary: Where Wonwoo works at a café, Seokmin doesn't like coffee, and their stories find themselves at a crossroads anyway.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Lee Seokmin | DK
Comments: 40
Kudos: 113
Collections: Enduring Dawn Round 1





	a love letter unwritten

Wonwoo finds himself curious about many things.

He’s dabbled in more hobbies than he can count on his fingers. He wants to know too much about the optimal conditions for the plants in their campus coffee shop, affectionately called Adore Cafe. He is curious about the quiet couple he just served a drink to and whether or not they’re doing okay. He wonders if today is the day his roommate Jisoo will finally let them secretly house a stray cat, or if today he will find the words to express how he feels more often than not.

And then, maybe most of all, Wonwoo thinks about why people would like him. What light he could possibly bring into somebody’s life. He thinks about the various ways he could make people smile, because he would like anybody who made him smile, too.

This is the thought that crosses his mind when a boy walks through the coffee shop, because he looks like he would have a really pretty smile and Wonwoo can’t help his curiosity.

Wonwoo has become familiar with the students who claim their obsession with coffee as a personality trait, and thus spend much of their time here. And he’s particularly keen with remembering faces, but he’s never seen this boy around before.

“Hi, welcome,” he says.

The boy nods in response, giving him a warm smile. It really is pretty, but he turns away quickly before Wonwoo thinks any more of it. He takes a seat at the table nearest the door, right next to Wonwoo’s favorite fishtail palm. The leaves do good at shielding the boy from Wonwoo's direct line of vision.

Oh well. People come in all the time without buying anything, anyway. They're located in a public university space, after all.

Wonwoo puts extra energy into his next oat milk latte art, and pretends that his gaze does not keep wandering over.

—

"Dude, I don't know what you're glaring at, but chill," says Junhui.

"I'm not glaring," hisses Wonwoo. "That's just my face."

Junhui makes a noise. "I know what your face looks like, dumbass. This is the face you make when you're petty."

"I'm not petty," Wonwoo tries again. "I'm just wondering if that guy is finally going to buy something today, or if he's just gonna keep occupying our space with his friend."

"You haven't cared about this boy at all until now. And he's been here for almost a week," Junhui points out, then pauses thoughtfully. "Oh, it's because you're jealous, aren't you?"

He immediately throws his arms up in defense as Wonwoo shoots him a glare. 

Because Junhui isn't necessarily wrong. He has a point. He isn't making snarky comments just to spite him. He is simply curious, too.

Neither of them know the boy's name, but his smile is easily recognizable and reminiscent of drops of sunshine. He is incredibly intriguing - not that he is shrouded in mystery, but more that Wonwoo can't understand why he is so drawn to him.

And like clockwork, the boy has come into the shop every single day. He enters through the door, sidesteps into the lobby, and plops down next to the fishpalm table without a glance at the menu. Just sits and stares at a laptop screen and blends in with every other student around him, albeit looking a little bit like a lost deer.

The first day he came in, it was fine. And it was fine the second and then the next time, too. He never does anything, although sometimes he directs prolonged stares at the employees. Wonwoo becomes familiarized, maybe even comfortable with his presence.

But today, something new happens. Today the boy shows up with someone else.

Even from far away, Wonwoo can tell that sunshine boy's acquaintance/friend/??? is wildly attractive, face sculpted at all the right edges. Tall. He talks with his hands and leans in close with his body, like a pet that naturally curls into their owner. They seem to be close.

Suddenly he's making direct eye contact with Mr. Tall, and suddenly he's approaching the register and leaving sunshine boy behind. Wonwoo fumbles around with a pastry crumb left on the counter in a desperate attempt to look busy.

"Oh, hello," Wonwoo says, looking up as the counter is successfully cleared. He is such a good employee. "How can I help you today?"

Mr. Pretty gives him a warm smile, but his eyes remain sharp. "Could I get your house iced coffee? With a shot of espresso, please. For here."

"Of course," says Wonwoo, fingers on autopilot as he punches in the order. "Anything else?"

"No, that'll be all."

And clearly Wonwoo has not been in the right mindset today, fuck Junhui, because he slips out, "Nothing for your friend?"

Mr. Iced Coffee appropriately raises an eyebrow slightly, but otherwise keeps his expression cool. "Hm? Oh, Seokmin doesn't like coffee."

Seokmin.

What would Seokmin like instead?

"Oh? Maybe tea or hot chocolate? We have some pastries that are good for snacking, or cake," Wonwoo rambles on, absolutely and utterly ridiculous. He keeps his gaze strictly on the register.

"No, I can't. That would be good for him, but I'm not sure if I have enough cash on me…"

"Don't worry about it. It'll be on the house for you guys," he says. He is so desperate, and if the customer notices he doesn't say anything.

"Wow, really? That would be great. What do you recommend?"

"Um. Our honey butter bread is popular."

"Then I'll get that. Thanks. You're so nice."

Wonwoo gets the name for the order - Mingyu - and sends him off with a plated honey butter bread and as much of a smile as he can muster.

Mingyu slips smoothly into the seat across the supposed Seokmin and places the pastry on the table. Seokmin looks thrilled, brighter than he's ever been, and even reaches across the table to pull Mingyu into a hug. It is only then that Wonwoo realizes his suggestion is fruitless, because Seokmin will never realize that the small gift was from Wonwoo.

When Seokmin and Mingyu light up the coffee shop with their laughter, it's hard for Wonwoo to be mad at anything. At least somebody made Seokmin happy today. He has a beautiful smile.

Junhui laughs at him again and even gets Seungcheol to make fun of him too. Wonwoo almost accidentally chucks boiling water onto their stupid faces.

—

When Wonwoo isn’t with his stupid co-workers/sometimes-friends at the coffee shop, he’s hanging around his other stupid friends - who are actually really talented and hardworking and run their university’s queer literary journal _Ode to You_.

He calls them stupid because Soonyoung, the editor-in-chief of their small digital journal, doesn’t really do much for their publication. He pitched the idea, gathered a bunch of creatives together to do the work, and now sits upon his high chair and sighs happily at his work.

“I just wanna be gay and be able to celebrate other gay people’s feelings and their gay art. You know?” he had said.

Nobody complains because as lazy as Soonyoung is with the execution, the idea is pure. And it helps Wonwoo find comfort in his identity, encourages him to work alongside his equally passionate members - Hansol likes to write lyrical prose, Jihoon loses himself in world building and extended metaphors, Minghao prefers to paint things that make no sense except to him. Wonwoo organizes and puts something meaningful together, Soonyoung approves it, and now they have a small but very loyal audience.

Wonwoo, ever the secret romantic, suggests an open section for people to write short letters.

Sometimes they’re overly dramatic, and sometimes they’re outright thirsty, but Wonwoo finds solace in them all the same. He learns of so many different ways in which people experience love and attraction on a spectrum. It makes him feel a little more safe not restricting his own feelings to a binary scale, a little more connected to the community around him.

Soonyoung always perks up as Wonwoo starts reading through letter submissions.

"Any about me?" he usually asks.

"No," Wonwoo always says.

"They're never about you," calls Jihoon from the other side of the room, where he and Hansol are working through a beat. They've been working on a lot of music recently, in hopes of releasing it as a side to the journal.

Soonyoung pouts and rests his chin on Wonwoo's shoulder, reading the letter out loud.

_I have never met anybody so infuriatingly attractive and simultaneously so baby. All I want to do is kiss them, but I can't even look at them normally without freezing up._

“What are you talking about? This one is clearly about me,” declares Soonyoung, and keeps reading. _The duality of lesbians!_ "Nevermind. But I love them."

Hansol snickers. Soonyoung’s head turns swiftly to throw him a pointed glare. Hansol coughs, and pretends he never heard anything. Wonwoo shakes his head and moves on.

_Hey neighbor, you really don’t have to sing the vocals, harmonies, and instrumentals of that opening to that shitty anime every time it plays. You have a nice voice and all, but I think I deserve some sleep._

"Okay, wait. This letter is actually about me," says Soonyoung, a little off balance.

Minghao, who everyone had thought was actually asleep, bursts out laughing. "Holy shit. You finally got a letter about you and it's about how you're a public nuisance-"

Soonyoung moves from Wonwoo's shoulder, grabs the nearest eraser and chucks it in Minghao's direction. He has good aim, but Minghao has better dexterity and dodges gracefully.

Soonyoung grumbles on the way back to his own chair, though he looks very distracted and deep in thought. Wonwoo makes a note to talk to him about it later.

And it's good that Soonyoung leaves, because the next letter feels more intimate to him, and he can't help but read it over and over..

_I’ve never wanted to write about someone like this, even though I barely know anything about them. I feel like I'm under a spell. They make me want to learn how to express myself in more ways, so that maybe my words could reach them. For now, this letter from my heart will remain unsent._

The words from this stranger mean more to him that he would like to admit. The message comes across clearly. He decides that he is cheering for this person, and takes note of their style in hopes that they will write again.

—

For somebody who supposedly does not like coffee, Seokmin keeps showing up over and over to his opening shifts, and making himself more and more suspicious.

He must really enjoy the morning atmosphere of the coffee shop, despite not treating himself to any of their goods. But instead of doing absolutely nothing, it seems that he now prefers to stare at every aspect of the coffee shop, including the employees.

It’s almost as if Seokmin was waiting for somebody to ask him about it, catching Wonwoo’s curious gaze multiple times but never for more than two seconds.

Even Jeonghan has started to notice him, and Jeonghan is always unbothered by customers. But neither he or Seungcheol worry too much about it, because Seungcheol takes one look at his doe eyes and declares that he is harmless. Everybody agrees, and Wonwoo thinks they secretly indulge the fact that a cute boy keeps coming back and blatantly staring at them.

Junhui pesters Wonwoo about their little mutual staring game at every possible moment he can. Finally, on yet another busy morning of throwing glances back and forth at each other, Junhui snaps under his breath.

“Listen, if you don’t go and talk to him and find out which one of us he’s interested in, I will,” Junhui says, pointing a seemingly threatening finger to his chest. His tone is half amusement and half I’m sick of you staring back at cute boy instead of cleaning the coffee grinder.

“You won’t,” says Wonwoo, even though he knows Junhui would. His gaze unconsciously lands on the boy's again, who gives him a harmless and cute look back. 

It turns out Wonwoo (thankfully) never has to make the first move, because Seokmin decides to confront him himself, exactly a week since his first appearance. 

Instead of bolting straight to the nearest unoccupied table as usual, he takes a detour and ends up in front of the counter.

"Oh, it's you he's interested in," Junhui says under his breath, towards Wonwoo, then slips away with stealth. Wonwoo stops in place, feels a blush already rising to his cheeks, and is suddenly very intrigued with the chocolate chip on the floor.

“Hi,” the boy says, smiling for no apparent reason other than that they’re talking. And if Wonwoo's heart bursts out of his chest then, Seokmin must be pretending not to notice.

“Hi,” he says, eventually. "How can I help you today?"

"Hi. Actually, I wasn't planning on buying anything. I actually had a question for you. Um, do you have time to talk for a second?"

There's a guarded edge to his voice, yet a certain softness that Wonwoo melts at hearing up close. He looks so small, his oversized cream turtleneck clinging to his frame, and his fingers tug at the end of his sleeves.

Wonwoo takes a glance around the store. It's the later of the morning bordering on the afternoon. Jeonghan is probably going to start deep cleaning the back of the house soon, and yelling at him to mop harder.

Shuddering at the thought, Wonwoo turns a smile towards Seokmin. "Yeah, sure. Just pretend like you're a customer taking forever to order.”

Seokmin breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you. My name is Seokmin. I'm a third year."

Wonwoo almost says something stupid like "I know." He introduces himself back. "Wonwoo. Fourth year."

"It's very nice to meet you. I have something to tell you,” whispers Seokmin suddenly, leaning in with bright eyes wide.

“Okay,” he says.

"I don't like coffee," Seokmin says slowly, and raises a finger to his lips.

Wonwoo is momentarily stunned at his dramatized proclamation. He almost says “me too” for the sake of easy conversation. His heart skips a beat, or maybe a million because the world seems to have stopped for them and he really does not understand what is going on.

"Not at all?"

"Nope," says Seokmin.

They stare at each other wordlessly. Another beat passes.

"I guess you've never bought anything here," says Wonwoo.

And Seokmin keeps staring and staring, before breaking into a sheepish smile and shifting the world back into place. "Have you noticed me? Sorry."

Of course he noticed Seokmin, he doesn’t say. "Then why do you keep coming back?" asks Wonwoo.

"Mm," hums Seokmin. His fingers tap at the edge of his arm. "This is going to sound really stupid."

"Okay. I'm all ears."

Seokmin explains animatedly that he's taking a writing class. "Not for fun. Well, kinda. It fulfills a general requirement and it was either this or some art history class, so in a way it was kind of for fun," explains Seokmin, eager to ramble on.

Wonwoo quirks a smile. "Okay. Writing is fun. Relatively more fun. Got it."

"Are you making fun of me?" says Seokmin, offended. Wonwoo bursts out laughing at his expression, and he sticks his bottom lip out more. "You're making fun of me."

"No, that would be rude of me. I've barely met you," says Wonwoo.

"You haven't. Mingyu said you gave me the honey butter bread. And you've been staring at me for the entire time I've been here."

Wonwoo feels his cheeks heat up. "You would have had to be staring at me to know that," he replies, a beat later than intended.

"I have," says Seokmin bluntly. "Oh. It sounds worse when I say it out loud. I just have to say it as it is. It's for my writing class!”

Wonwoo nods, and Seokmin goes on about the travesty of this creative writing class. Their professor is nice, but creates assignments without any clear criteria, spouting fluff about how it helps students discover their voice. For their final assignment, they've all been randomly assigned a setting, where their newest work was to be based upon. Of his classmates with fairytale and surreal settings, Seokmin had the luckiest draw - a coffee shop.

"And that's all the direction the professor gave us," groans Seokmin. His voice strains, and makes him feel like it's truly the end of the world. "And I've probably been to a total of two coffee shops. They were both Starbucks."

"That's quite tragic, Seokmin," says Wonwoo, not bothering to hide the amusement in his voice.

Seokmin pouts again. It’s endearing. He continues. “I didn’t really know what to do. I thought that maybe if I just sat down in this cafe for long enough, I would get an idea of what to write. And it's been really nice. But now I've been here for almost a week...”

"So I'm assuming it's not really working out?"

“Nope,” says Seokmin, smiling despite openly admitting to staring at Wonwoo and his co-workers. “I’m so sorry if all of this has creeped you out. I didn’t mean to bother you, or to even talk to you! I know I should have asked earlier, but I really didn't think it would take this long and Mingyu was mad I haven’t told you all…"

Seokmin keeps muttering to himself, and looking increasingly guilty.

And there’s a faint voice in the back of Wonwoo’s mind that tells him to say no thank you, leave, do a search on the Internet for coffee shop music and call it a day. The staring might not bother him, but Seungcheol does value his privacy. Seokmin is a stranger with a beautiful smile, but still a stranger nonetheless.

But there’s a bigger voice that is enamored by the sincerity in Seokmin’s plea, and who understands the need for wanting to immerse themselves in art. He wants to know how Seokmin’s piece turns out, and maybe even tell him about his literary journal.

Even larger than that, Wonwoo selfishly wants to take the opportunity to get to know him, and to find out just how long he can smile like that.

The gears must be turning very apparently in his head, because Seokmin rushes in. “It’s really okay if you want me to leave, I understand. I’m sorry I’ve stayed for so long-”

"You know, I'm actually a journalism major," Wonwoo interrupts. "I like to write. And I think it’s cool that you’re trying to learn more through an assignment like this. Going to the actual setting is the best thing you could do."

He watches as Seokmin’s frown slowly starts to dissipate, and continues. “But you should have told me the first day you walked in. I would have dressed up or something if I knew you were observing.”

“No, you always look great,” Seokmin says quickly. It is incredibly sincere and makes Wonwoo a little dizzy. He wants to say the same thing back. “Besides, I didn’t want to bother you while you were working. You always seemed busy.”

Wonwoo was busy, but moreso busy fighting off Junhui’s snarky comments that someone was staring at him. “Seokmin-ssi, I’m a barista. I get paid to sacrifice myself to the customers on a daily basis."

As if on cue, a loud group of students come hollering their way into the otherwise empty shop. Wonwoo silently curses them out.

"Speaking of, maybe I should get back to that,” he says, trailing off as he sees Jeonghan glaring daggers at him from the back.

Seokmin stares wide-eyed back at him, a slight frown on his face. He looks like a giant puppy afraid to be left alone. Wonwoo is going to do everything in his power to make him smile again.

"But really, if you ever want to know anything at all about the coffee shop, feel free to ask. I love this place, and everything about it. There's a lot of heart here, I think," says Wonwoo honestly.

"I would love to talk to you more. That would help me so much. I want to learn from you," says Seokmin. He looks a little bit like he's about to cry, and Wonwoo insists that he isn’t that special, but always willing to help.

“My only request,” starts Wonwoo, “is that you let me make you a drink every time you come. How can you write about a coffee shop without ever enjoying something to drink?”

“I really don’t like coffee-”

“What about hot chocolate?”

“... Okay.”

At that, Seokmin gives a bright laugh, and Wonwoo thanks the stars for giving him a reason to wander into his little coffee shop.

—

“Ta-da,” says Wonwoo, placing the cup and saucer on Seokmin’s fishtail palm shaded table. He winces at his weak presentation, but it makes Seokmin smile from ear to ear anyway.

“Oh, that’s a lot of whipped cream!” he says, clapping his hands. “I’m really excited, hyung.”

“You better be," says Wonwoo, even though he runs through the ingredients in his head again to make sure he didn't accidentally poison the drink.

He slips into the seat across from Seokmin. The hot chocolate sits between them, dark from the extra cocoa powder and decorated with little dusts of cinnamon. The whipped cream topping melts into the drink.

Seokmin takes his time and makes a thoughtful noise, forcing Wonwoo to look at him. "You know, you look a lot smaller when you sit down than when you're standing."

He pushes his glasses up his nose, in hopes it’ll distract from the growing redness on his face. "Is that… is that a good thing?"

“Yeah. It’s cute,” he says smiling.

Wonwoo is stunned. Before he can say anything else, Seokmin is already lifting the cup up to his lips.

"Wait, careful, it might be hot-"

Seokmin makes an unavoidable yelping noise, pulling away from the drink and glaring at it with the heat of betrayal. "It's hot!"

"Sorry," says Wonwoo, wincing too late. "Are you okay?"

“I’m fine. It was worth it. It’s really good, hyung. It tastes like… inspiration.”

Wonwoo barks a laugh, and covers his own mouth. “You don’t have to flatter me that much, Seokmin-ah. I’m glad you like it.”

“I’m serious,” Seokmin insists, eyes wide. “I know it’ll help me. At least, I hope so, because the assignment is due in two weeks.” Two more weeks of Seokmin, he supposes.

“Have you been writing anything? You’ve been here nonstop for the past week."

At that, Seokmin laughs humorlessly, and laughs some more even louder. Then he takes another hearty sip of the hot chocolate, laughs, and eventually sighs in exaggerated defeat. “I’m trying my best.”

Wonwoo gives a sympathetic smile, and promises to bring him more pastries and drinks that don't taste like coffee.

A little while later, Seokmin approaches the counter again with an empty mug and asks if he can watch Wonwoo make drinks. Wonwoo is quickly learning that it’s almost impossible to deny Seokmin his wishes.

Having Seokmin behind the counter isn’t as much of a distraction as it might be, because Wonwoo has been making coffee for far too long. He is good at multitasking. He wouldn’t necessarily be able to do it in his sleep, per say, but his hands have a mind of their own and can run even without his brain.

Still, Wonwoo finds himself a little shy under the attention, and is afraid that his shaky hands will give away the nerves that run through his body. It doesn't help that Seokmin is attentive and watches his every step, taking notes with his phone.

Wonwoo takes another order, pressurizes the filtered grounds, pours them into the coffee brewing machine and flavors whatever comes out. Rinse and repeat.

“I don’t get it. Where does the liquid come from?” Seokmin says, squinting suspiciously at the liquid that pours out into the cup from the machine.

“From the beans. We usually grind whole coffee beans and then they’re put in boiling water to brew.”

“So are you saying coffee is… bean flavored water?”

Wonwoo snorts. “Yeah. Actually.”

“Fascinating,” says Seokmin profoundly, nodding his head and typing on his notes.

Then Seokmin asks about where the beans come from, what does shade grown mean, are all the flavorings from syrups, what is Wonwoo’s favorite drink, what does an Americano taste like, how do they do the art with the cream, why does Wonwoo like working here, what does Wonwoo do for fun.

“You’re not asking about the coffee anymore!” says Wonwoo accusingly, flustered from the attention.

Seokmin pulls his lips together into a smile. “Maybe. Are you going to answer or not?”

Wonwoo sighs and indulges him, blabbering on about coffee and the game he’s been playing and his favorite non-fiction books, which Seokmin seems to take notes on, too.

And when Seokmin finally leaves for the day, filled with newfound knowledge and inspiration, Jeonghan smirks at him from ear to ear. He doesn’t have to say anything, but he is so annoyingly loud, the annoying shit-eating grin plastered to his face.

“No,” says Wonwoo, and sulks into the back room, exhausted at how much Seokmin talks but also filled with a warm feeling in his stomach. He thinks he can hide here comfortably for the rest of his shift, at least until he can stop smiling to himself.

—

Seokmin quickly becomes one of the most familiar faces at the cafe. Wonwoo learns a lot more about Seokmin without trying. It isn’t hard because every chance that he gets him alone, Seokmin is talking his ear off.

He tells him that he talked to Junhui, Jeonghan, and Seungcheol, apologizing profusely for creeping around in the coffee shop without introducing himself. Apparently Seokmin had thought he was lurking silently enough in the shop so that nobody would notice him. Wonwoo thinks that he doesn’t realize how radiant he is, even when he’s just sitting.

But now that he’s made his presence known, Seokmin makes it his mission to befriend all of Wonwoo’s co-workers. As compensation for his harmless staring, he offers to buy them all milk tea or smoothies, in case they ever get sick of coffee.

Seungcheol likes making friends with everybody, so that was bound to happen. And Seokmin seems particularly charmed by Junhui, who despite his snarky attitude with his close friends, successfully acts like a prince to everyone else. 

Even Jeonghan mentions that he had been talking frequently with Seokmin, with a scarily fond smile on his face.

“What? What have you talked to him about?” Wonwoo had said, very defensively.

“Just shit about you, obviously.”

And he keeps coming back, and it seems a little suspicious that somebody would put this much effort in immersing themselves into a general elective paper. But the more Wonwoo learns about him, the more it makes sense. That’s who Seokmin is.

Seokmin visits the coffee shop in the morning because of his long evening practices for their upcoming departmental musical. Wonwoo had been absolutely starstruck as Seokmin humbly mentioned that he had a starring role alongside his friend Mingyu. So starstruck, he had fallen asleep to the thought of Seokmin singing to him for days.

He is an avid musical theater major, the ace on their university archery team, and still he reserves plenty of time for regular movie nights with his roommates Seungkwan and Chan.

He puts his all into almost everything he does, Wonwoo thinks, and seems like he works too much sometimes. This is made more apparent once Seokmin falls dead asleep at the cafe one morning. It’s a little amazing that he can fall asleep here, when the other customers clearly have no intention of shutting up. 

It’s cute, Wonwoo settles on. He'll surprise him with a honey butter bread for when he wakes up.

—

_The day I first felt alive was the day I learned that everybody loves through different languages. It was the day I decided that my somewhat childish purpose was to fit as many languages as I can inside my body, to color people’s different worlds with their own precious kind of love._

Wonwoo reads over the few letter submissions they’ve received, and takes this one out with a special note. He’s sitting in the informal _Ode to You_ classroom, sitting alongside his friends and waiting patiently for Soonyoung to show up. None of them particularly mind, working comfortably in silence on their own tasks. 

Soonyoung, of course, makes a grand entrance by slamming open the doors and announcing his presence.

"Alright, everyone. It's almost time to release our next issue. What do you have for me?"

Soonyoung takes an exaggerated glance around the room. Wonwoo blinks back at him. Minghao looks at his nails.

There is another extended beat of silence. “Really?” cries Soonyoung, dejected. “You guys have nothing?”

Jihoon shrugs. He hadn't even looked up from his computer screen, open to a mixing program. “It’s just been a busy term, you know?”

"Not nothing! I have a sweet new jam recipe to share," says Hansol enthusiastically.

"Oh!" says Wonwoo. "We'll have to make it sometime."

Soonyoung looks absolutely devastated and Hansol can’t hold in his laughter to save his life. He gives their play away. “Nah, we’re just fucking with you. We got ideas and a few submissions."

He starts his reporting to Soonyoung, who’s leaned over with his hands clasped together and nodding in approval, assuming a true leader position.

"I think our next theme should be a celebration of youth," starts Hansol. "All of the good things, but also all of the hardships that come with it. And how we can try to embrace it now, especially since we might have taken it for granted."

"We shouldn't restrict youth to an age category either," adds Minghao. "It should be something you can experience all the time, depending on how you live."

Wonwoo looks towards Jihoon then, reaching over to give his arm a gentle squeeze, a push of encouragement.

Jihoon, the quiet mastermind behind it all, chimes in his thoughts. He talks about how people take time to grow into their identities, and the process of self discovery is often too confusing. But once they really start to grow into their skin, they allow themselves to finally feel the youth they might have missed out on. Soonyoung, sweet Soonyoung, almost tears up.

Soonyoung tells everyone that he loves them, and Wonwoo tells him that they know.

And so Soonyoung keeps them bouncing ideas off of each other, assigning each of them different roles and perspectives to take on. The light atmosphere in the room shifts as they become more serious, but it's comfortable all the same.

Wonwoo is listening - really, because this idea is important to all of them. He is listening until he sees his phone light up with a notification, and his fingers don’t think twice as they race to respond.

seokmin  
I came to adore today and you weren’t there 🥺

wonwoo  
what do you mean I was here the whole time  
I'm still here?  


seokmin  
noooooooooo you're lying you weren't !!!  
I was looking for you don't mess with me :(  
I definitely would have seen you

wonwoo  
I'm kidding I wasn't there :)  
sorry seokmin-ah I'll make it up to you

seokmin  
it’s okay! you better  
jeonghan-hyung taught me how to do the latte art with the froth thing😋  
  
it didn’t really work  
it was supposed to be a heart…💔

wonwoo  
I don't think that's the latte art?

seokmin  
oh!!!!! wrong picture hehe

"What are you smiling at?" somebody whispers into his ear.

Wonwoo freaks out. His phone almost falls out of his hands as he fumbles to erase the incriminating evidence. The discussion in the room comes to a stop, and all eyes dart towards Wonwoo at the speed of light.

"Nothing is wrong,” he tries, and coughs.

"Something is wrong," says Soonyoung, eyeing him suspiciously.

Jihoon raises an eyebrow at him. “You were actually texting. And I’ve never seen you smile like that. Oh shit. You like somebody.”

Minghao perks up noticeably at the turn of conversation, and Wonwoo swears his ears actually twitch. “Wait, Wonwoo? A crush? Tell me more, I’m listening.”

“Oh my God, we’re not twelve anymore-”

Somebody clears their throat loudly as everyone starts rapidly talking at once. Soonyoung is fuming at the disruption, but everyone knows he isn’t really. 

“Wonwoo. You seem to have some pressing inspiration. Smells like young love to me. You’re writing a piece for this issue,” announces Soonyoung, and then he moves on.

And Soonyoung is completely out of this world, but soft at heart. He knows Wonwoo all too well, knows how he writes in spurts of emotions he can’t keep inside and wears his heart on his sleeve. If Soonyoung says that inspiration is what he feels, then it's true.

So Wonwoo doesn’t argue, looking back down at his phone still blowing up with notifications of Seokmin showing off his latte art and his ability to spam various emojis. 

wonwoo  
it's okay I liked the picture  
don’t let jeonghan teach you more than I have though

—

Seokmin mentions that he loves caramel, and so Wonwoo spends a good chunk of his time experimenting with caramel recipes. He figures that he can’t go wrong with dumping the entire batch of salted caramel goodness into a cup, but decides against it. A frozen blended drink sounds good too.

He presents Seokmin with his concoction, but the boy looks beyond distressed even when he manages a flurry of thanks at the sweet treat. It’s worrying when he’s even the slightest bit sad.

"Should I even ask about it today?" says Wonwoo apologetically.

Seokmin gives a loud groan. The defeat in his eyes is evident. "This assignment is ruining my life. I have five more days. I'm really not a writer, hyung," he says, sinking down into his seat.

"I think you’ve been doing great, Seokmin-ah,” says Wonwoo honestly. “And if anything, you can submit what you have. One class isn’t supposed to stress you out this much.”

"No," says Seokmin, adamantly shaking his head. "I refuse. If this is the last thing I'll ever write again, it's going to be good." He looks determined, staring intently at his screen and willing his story to write itself.

Wonwoo gives a soft smile, even though Seokmin isn't looking. "You're really persistent, you know that?"

There's a faint rosy color that spreads across his cheeks then, but Seokmin shields himself away from Wonwoo's view by looking down. "I know," he says. "I just. I think this project has grown too personal for me."

"Personal?" says Wonwoo, quiet and curious. "You like it here that much?"

Seokmin takes a sip of his drink and looks up then, his eyes gleaming. "Yeah. I do. It feels like… something new. I don't know how to explain it yet. And that's why I want to capture it in the best way possible," he says, then laughs nervously. "Or maybe I'm just procrastinating on everything else."

Wonwoo understands. His mind immediately drifts to the writing piece that Soonyoung had confidently assigned him, which has since been untouched.

And even before this, he finds himself spending countless hours in front of blank notebooks, and getting frustrated that none of his words seem to come out right. It’s hard enough writing for fun, but writing for someone to critically analyze is a difficulty that is worlds away.

He thinks about what he would do before if he was really struggling to come to. “Why don’t we go take a break and go somewhere else,” he says suddenly, thinking out loud, his mind helpfully supplying a familiar place.

“Somewhere… else?”

“To give you a change of scenery. I think the smell of roasted beans is getting to your head. And it might make it easier to write about a setting if you force yourself to do it from memory.”

Seokmin tilts his head cutely, already closing his laptop. “What did you have in mind?”

—

There's a special place on campus that Wonwoo discovers by accident. It's a miracle that his complete and utter lack of direction usually ends up in his favor.

The hidden rooftop garden has evolved to become Wonwoo's favorite creative writing spot over the years, because there was never another soul to bother him. And though he doesn’t come as frequently anymore, the community garden is always a nice reminder that time is passing, and things are growing. And now Wonwoo has a place to compost the shop’s used coffee grounds and filters.

He isn’t sure who is taking care of the plants, but it doesn’t really matter to him. Right now it seems there are plenty of seeds being sown into the soil, ready to germinate for the upcoming spring season.

Seokmin’s pure energy makes him feel like he is discovering this place for the first time again. He jumps around in amazement at each of the raised garden beds, marvelling at some of the ripening vegetables, and watches as the sky unfolds around them.

Here, it was Wonwoo against the glaring sun and the rest of the world beneath. His words would roam free, and fade to nonexistence as they are carried through the sky.

He finds himself letting loose as he and Seokmin take a seat against the railing, lets the conversation move easily.

"Do you want to know a secret?" he says slowly, watching the clouds roll by.

There's a slight redness to his cheeks that Wonwoo swears he's imagining. "I would love to," Seokmin says.

A harsh wind blows past them, and the words rush out of Wonwoo’s mouth. "Um. I learn all about informational writing and media communication and all that. But I think my heart is in creative writing,” he admits. “And I took you here because this is where I like to write. The garden is a good reminder of, like, how much something can grow from a simple seed. Or a simple idea, as long as you give it the nourishment it needs.”

Seokmin sits up at his words, and keeps staring at him with an unrecognizable expression on his face. Wonwoo suddenly feels shy under the attention, fidgeting with his fingers, realizing he said too much.

It is at this point that Wonwoo realizes he has told very few people about his interest, always preferring to stay anonymous on his publications for _Ode to You_.

And Seokmin lends a listening ear to everything he’s said so far, has made him feel like everything irrelevant he says is somehow important. But maybe Seokmin thought this was dumb. Right, he was only taking this creative writing class because he was forced to and now he’s looking at Wonwoo in such a weird way-

“That’s so cool, hyung,” says Seokmin earnestly, cutting off his thoughts. “I admire people who write stories so much.”

Wonwoo doesn't know what to say, the words spreading warmth through his body. He recognizes that the look in his eye is nothing more complicated than simple amazement.

“Just because I like it doesn’t mean I’m good at it,” Wonwoo says, looking away slightly. He feels the back of his neck getting warm. This is bad.

Seokmin shakes his head furiously. “You can’t be bad at writing. You’re the one who told me that. But if you would ever like to share your work with someone, I would be happy to read it.”

“Really?” says Wonwoo stupidly. He's barely thinking when words come out of his mouth. "I've been trying to write a piece for… something, too."

"Hm. Are you?" says Seokmin, and doesn't push any further. 

"Yeah," Wonwoo breathes. "It really is hard when it's something personal to you."

“If that's the case, I would love to read it when it's finished. I would love to get to know you through your words.” 

Seokmin smiles at Wonwoo so brightly then, and it should be impossible for somebody’s eyes to twinkle like that. Wonwoo’s face must be burning red from the heat of the stars.

He can’t look any longer. There’s thoughts swimming around in his head of reading Seokmin the poems that nobody has seen, of writing while Seokmin hums alongside him and holds his hand. Writing about Seokmin, for a piece about stupid youth.

This is so bad.

Seokmin is oblivious to his internal meltdown, and instead playfully berates Wonwoo for not telling him earlier. He jokes about getting him to look over his assignment. Wonwoo sticks out his tongue, and insists that if he had helped, it wouldn’t come from Seokmin’s heart.

“And you didn’t want me to read your story anyway,” says Wonwoo, without a hint of malice, because he understands.

“I know,” says Seokmin back, because he really understands too.

And then Wonwoo can’t stop running his mouth about how much he likes to create, letting go of anything and everything that he’s been holding back. The wind carries their words far away, but Wonwoo’s head fights to keep the memory of this moment in place.

At the end of the day, Seokmin realizes with a deep red blush that he hasn't made any more progress in his assignment, but tells him that he’s happy. He makes a promise to Wonwoo that the next time they see each other, his story will finally be completed.

—

seokmin  
I’m finally done with my writing assignment🥳🥳🥳  
I’m never gonna do it again

wonwoo  
congrats seokmin-ah, finally!  
do you want to celebrate with a cup of coffee?

seokmin  
no 😊

wonwoo  
are you going to let me read your piece?

seokmin  
no 😊

wonwoo  
oh cause it’s all about me isn’t it? :)

seokmin  
😊

—

It seems Seokmin's life finally starts to catch up with him and as a result, Wonwoo doesn't see him too much anymore. 

He hasn't seen him since their evening spent on the rooftop garden. And Wonwoo fully expects to never see him at the coffee shop again, having finished his writing assignment and no other pressing reason to be there. Seokmin's musical debut is fast approaching, as is the hustle towards the end of their term.

Despite this, every morning that he has a shift in the coffee shop, he spends a little extra time gelling his hair back and making sure his shirt is tucked extra tightly into his jeans. But none of the smiles that walk through the doors turn out to be him. It makes him a little more sad than he’d care to admit.

Junhui notices the apparent lack of sunshine in his life, and gives Wonwoo a playful punch. "He'll come back. Even when he was talking to us, he was asking about you."

"No, he wasn't," says Wonwoo, flustered.

"That's exactly what he said when we told him that you were always talking about him," sighs Junhui. The "you're all ridiculous" isn't said, but is loud and clear.

They text each other sometimes - Wonwoo lines from the book he's reading and Seokmin updates from the musical and both pictures of cats - but they don't meet up in between their busy schedules.

Just when Wonwoo considers doing something wildly stupid like sending an “I miss you” text, a familiar smile soon shows up to one of Wonwoo’s evening shifts. The world works in mysterious ways, sometimes.

“Oh, Wonwoo-ah. Looks like you have a visitor,” says Seungcheol, a lilt to his voice. “Don’t mind me, I’m just gonna be cleaning in the back, minding my business.”

Wonwoo waves him off, knowing that he is absolutely going to be listening through the back door, but he can’t find himself caring as he buzzes with excitement.

"What are you doing back here, mister I don't even like coffee?" teases Wonwoo, as Seokmin approaches the counter.

And Seokmin gives him a lopsided smile back.

"I like your hot chocolate," he says happily. "Anyway, you know how I finished my writing class assignment? I might have spent too much time on it. Um, now I'm really, really behind on all my other work…"

Of course he is. There was no way he wouldn't have been able to balance all of his duties with how much time he spent talking to Wonwoo.

Wonwoo laughs. "You really dug yourself into a hole, didn't you?"

"Maybe so. But anyway, my roommates are having a spontaneous karaoke night in the apartment, and I didn’t want to ruin their fun. So I thought I could get some work done here.”

Wonwoo hums in complete understanding, and then he frowns as he looks at the time. “The shop is closing now, though. I’ll have to kick you out.”

“Oh… That’s okay. Maybe I’ll stop by the library and finish there then," Seokmin says quietly.

The library isn’t the farthest walk from here, but Wonwoo frowns thinking about Seokmin making the tread by himself. The night is fast approaching them, and the air turns colder with every minute.

He says it before he can stop himself. “Why don’t you come to my place? It’s a really short walk from here,” he offers, as collected as he can possibly be. “I can make us some ramyeon, and you can just sit on my couch and keep working. It’ll be quiet because my roommate will be gone.”

Seokmin doesn’t say anything for what feels like an eternity, blinking at him in awe. Wonwoo almost regrets everything until, “Are you sure?”

Wonwoo feels shy under his gaze. “Of course,” he manages. “Why not? I could use the company. Your company."

And then Seokmin's entire presence instantly brightens up, and his smile is golden, illuminated by the soft setting sun through the windows.

Which is how Wonwoo ends up entrusting a disgruntled Seungcheol with closing (he sighs, but says that he’ll do anything for Seokmin), and walking into the night alongside Seokmin. His happiness is almost overwhelming, and makes Wonwoo almost forget the way back to his own apartment. They walk and Seokmin talks so fast, it feels like Wonwoo hasn’t missed a single thing while they were apart.

They get to his place. Wonwoo apologizes sheepishly for not having many ingredients in stock for dinner, and Seokmin admits that he might have forgotten to eat if left alone anyway.

They eat and Seokmin acts like his slightly upgraded instant ramyeon is worthy of five stars. It seems like Seokmin will happily gulp down anything as long as it’s not coffee. Wonwoo wonders if Seokmin is this nice to everyone. Of course he is. Still, this feels special.

Seokmin insists on helping him wash the dishes, and Wonwoo refuses. They go back and forth, and then end up doing them together because they’re both stubborn, and finally Wonwoo convinces Seokmin to sit down and work.

"I'm sorry, the couch is a little small-"

"It's fine," says Seokmin too quickly. “We can squeeze.”

And Seokmin looks so small and at home curled up in his couch cushion, his laptop balanced precariously on his thighs. Wonwoo settles in next to him, and is all too aware of how close their shoulders are.

"I'm sorry all that you've seen me do is work, hyung," says Seokmin suddenly, breaking their silence and seeming like he would explode if he didn't say anything. "I promise I'm fun and do other things."

Wonwoo looks over at him with amusement. "You don't have to apologize for anything. I'm having fun anyway. Keep working."

"Fine. But I promise. Let's go to the movies or eat out sometime, okay?"

"Maybe if you stop procrastinating by talking to me," says Wonwoo, smiling, thinking about what places they could take each other.

They fall into a rhythm, Wonwoo listening to Seokmin’s constant breathing and his infrequent bursts of typing. The air still smells faintly like the coffee shop, traces left on both of their clothes. It feels comfortable, and yet also feels like they're dancing delicately around each other, afraid to push for more intimacy but complacent as is.

Wonwoo doesn't know how much time passes. All he knows is that there's so much he wants to say, and so much that he is afraid he never will. The emotions threaten to bubble over in his throat, as Seokmin's thigh seems to inch closer and closer over.

He’s about to turn and say something stupid, when suddenly there's a warm weight against his shoulder. Wonwoo almost jumps at the contact.

His eyes fix upon Seokmin, whose body slowly leans into Wonwoo. Seokmin has fallen asleep, his screen open to multiple tabs at once and all left forgotten. 

Wonwoo momentarily forgets how to breathe, and the fondness swells inside of him. 

He uses his unoccupied arm to carefully close the laptop, and set it on the floor. He tunes their breathing together, and stays for as long as Seokmin needs.

He focuses his attention on reading pieces for _Ode to You_ , strategically angling his phone away from Seokmin’s line of sight and careful not to make too much noise.

There’s a follow-up to the letter about the person belting out their anime openings, where the writer thinks they’re actually endearing and wants to sing together with them. Wonwoo snickers at the turn of events and sends it to Soonyoung, who will probably fall onto the floor wherever and whenever he reads it.

There's another letter that captures his attention, and Wonwoo reads it over for a long time.

_I don’t know where the destination is, but my journey so far has been filled with bits of discovery and happiness and wonder. These are the puzzle pieces that will make up our story, and create the youthful place that I’ve been dreaming of. I want to experience it with you._

Eventually too much time passes. His roommate Jisoo comes back with Jeonghan late into the night, hand-in-hand. He’ll never get over how his aggravating co-worker courted his picky roommate, but sometimes they are cute.

Seokmin is still cuddled up to Wonwoo’s side, snoring softly and undisturbed by their new company. Wonwoo’s arm is a little sore acting as a pillow, but he doesn’t dare move out of fear.

“Oh, you finally got him,” comments Jeonghan.

“He’s cute,” says Jisoo, nodding in approval.

Wonwoo doesn't bother correcting them and smiles fondly. “I know.”

When Wonwoo drives Seokmin home later that night, Seokmin is still blinking through droopy eyelids. He keeps his grip on Wonwoo’s arm the entire way back, despite telling Wonwoo not to walk him all the way to his door.

Wonwoo knocks on the door and is greeted by the infamous Chan and Seungkwan, the latter of which immediately jumps to accuse Wonwoo of bringing Seokmin back so late. Chan tells him not to worry, and takes sleepy Seokmin inside, despite his half-hearted protests to get Wonwoo to stay.

Wonwoo drives home alone, but keeps a smile on his face anyway.

—

And Wonwoo doesn’t stop thinking about Seokmin.

Seokmin, who had apologized again and again for falling asleep on him, despite Wonwoo assuring him that it was fine and wishing he would let himself be taken care of. Seokmin, who might be overworking himself as his musical date creeps closer. Seokmin, who wants to read the words that he writes and makes him feel nostalgic about something he’s never had.

He thinks about how close they had been the night at Wonwoo’s apartment, and how his skin had felt like it was physically burning from the proximity. Even now his touch still lingers on his skin. He thinks about the possibility of Seokmin feeling the same way, just as afraid of reaching out for more.

He decides that the next time they see each other, that's when Wonwoo will tell him. But that next time seems a little too far away, and his heart threatens itself the longer he waits. 

"Ah, fuck," Wonwoo mutters to himself as he rummages through his bag. He finds his notebook, grabs the nearest pen, and starts scribbling furiously into the night.

His brain does not supply enough power for his feelings to surface as he wishes, but he gets something down. He writes about this constant itch of wanting to discover more, but feeling so at home with what he has. How good it feels to simply think about something, and have the thoughts stir up butterflies in his stomach with some sort of magical childlike innocence. 

None of it is perfect, but it’s a start.

When Hansol reads over his work, Wonwoo refuses to make eye contact. He loves and trusts his friends very much, and knows out of anyone Hansol would be the least likely to judge.

But there’s a part of him that still feels too exposed, too vulnerable to be read so openly like this. It’s hard to write and remain disconnected from the words, because they are a direct result of his own experiences. Wonwoo still struggles to find peace with his identity.

Hansol reads for a long time. Eventually he grabs him by the shoulder and forces him to look directly into his eyes. His eyebrows are furrowed downwards in all seriousness, and his voice sincere.

“This is really good. Like, really good. Now go talk to them.”

—

Wonwoo replaces the quiet night with soft music from his phone speakers. He's found himself closing alone tonight (because he owes Seungcheol) but that's never been a problem for him. Even though he is separated from the outside by sheets of glass, the occasional wandering student makes him feel at ease.

He hums to himself, lets himself sing a few lines every now and then. Not too loud so anyone could hear but loud enough for him, to save himself from thinking of something else.

Once he gets home, maybe Wonwoo will settle in with the game he's been putting off leveling or he’ll text Seokmin about it. He’s also been behind in editing for the journal, and there's a novel he's been avoiding for so long he's going to have to restart it. There's a nagging voice in his head from Jihoon. "Do you ever study? Do you even go here?"

Wonwoo gets caught up in his thoughts, his movements on autopilot. Suddenly the door swings open, the familiar bell ringing throughout the shop, and Wonwoo snaps his head up with a jolt. He swears, realizing he forgot to lock the door.

He's about to apologize to an unsuspecting customer, but realizes that he doesn't have to.

“Jeez, you scared the shit out of me. I thought you had rehearsal-” Wonwoo starts, his heart still racing. But as soon as the door budges fully open he’s being met with a handful of Seokmin.

Seokmin, who looks into his eyes and catches his breath before speaking.

"Did you write this?"

"What," breathes Wonwoo, slightly dizzy. He holds onto Seokmin tight because he doesn’t think he could stand without the support. "What do you mean? Write what?"

"This is you, isn’t it?" says Seokmin, straining his voice and showing him a very familiar looking website on his phone. "On _Ode to You_?"

Wonwoo freezes.

Seokmin is looking desperately at him, and it feels like his piercing gaze is able to decipher Wonwoo's heart completely. He manifested his own feelings into words, and never expected to be recognized so easily. For once his words fail him, but Seokmin doesn't seem to be able to hold it in.

"I read this and there was one line about a garden on a rooftop, and it would've been magical to anyone else but I know that place," Seokmin keeps talking. "You took me there."

"I did take you there," admits Wonwoo, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. His words slip out before he thinks any more about it. "I did write that piece. I wrote it about you."

And Seokmin stares and stares, and Wonwoo feels heat spread to every inch of his body. His emotion is so obvious in his piece, and his crush should be so clear in the way he looks at Seokmin now, and he's afraid that maybe he’s read all of this wrong.

His expression is unrecognizable. Finally, Seokmin says, "Well. Good."

The word barely makes its way out of his dry throat. "Good?"

"Yeah. Good," he repeats. "Because I realized right after barging into here that it could have been about someone else, and then I would have never been able to live this down."

Wonwoo laughs. The atmosphere in the room becomes lighter, more airy somehow, but still their words hang over them.

"Of course it was about you, Seokmin-ah," he says, looking down, and making sure his feet don't collapse beneath him.

"Okay. Good," says Seokmin, his voice soft. "Because I wrote about you, too. For my writing assignment. It was all about you, and you in your coffee shop. I couldn't write about anything else."

Seokmin wrote about him, is the only thought that runs through his head. Wonwoo forgets how to speak, but Seokmin never does.

"I kind of really want to kiss you right now. Is that okay? Or we can, like, wait until we have a second date, I don't really mind-"

"Kiss me," is all Wonwoo can say, as Seokmin looks at him shyly. We'll figure out the rest later, he thinks.

Seokmin doesn’t waste any time, pulling him in by the strings of his apron and framing his face with his hands.

Their lips slide together, and Wonwoo’s mind draws blank. Seokmin pushes against him gently, soft and slow, like they have all the time in the world to explore each other. When Wonwoo pulls away to catch his breath, Seokmin chases him right back, slightly opening his mouth for more and more.

They kiss for so long, and Wonwoo becomes all too aware that they’re in the shop, and he still has to prep ingredients and wash the machines. His music is still playing faintly in the background. A soundtrack to their story.

He can feel Seokmin’s smile against his own. Seokmin tells him that he tastes like coffee, scrunching up his face in feigned disgust, and Wonwoo kisses him again.

“I like you a lot,” whispers Seokmin, finally pulling back. “I was so scared to talk to you when I first saw you."

“Oh? Is that why you ignored me for a whole week in favor of staring at me?” teases Wonwoo, and Seokmin whines in his arms.

“Shut up,” says Seokmin, burying his face into Wonwoo’s shirt. “Maybe. But then I realized you’re not so scary. You just like cats and books and making people happy.”

“You forgot one thing. I like you, too,” says Wonwoo, as Seokmin playfully beats his fists against his chest.

"You're a dork, you know that?"

“Me, a dork? You’re the one who rushed over here as soon as you could instead of sending a text like a normal person!"

Seokmin dissolves into a fit of laughter, and Wonwoo can't help but smile wide too. They are filled with so much warmth, suspended in a daze of happiness, and he thinks they will stay this way until the night catches up with them.

Later on, Wonwoo will learn that Seokmin had been an avid reader of his journal since the beginning. 

They will realize that Seokmin wrote very often to the journal, professions of love for his friends, his roommates, and recently for someone special. And then Seokmin will learn that Wonwoo is the reason he has this platform in the first place, and they’ll giggle about all of this when they’re pressed together on Wonwoo’s tiny couch.

Later on, further down their road map, they will acknowledge that they’re both a little ridiculous, and both a little in love. They rush into themselves, but set a comfortable place for the rest of the way forward.

**Author's Note:**

> can you tell that i 1) don't know anything about coffee, 2) have a complicated relationship with writing, and 3) LOVE SEOKWOO
> 
> thank you so much to the lovely mods for hosting this dk fest and giving me a reason to indulge myself with this. you can find me endlessly loving seok on [twitter](https://twitter.com/seokkisses)!


End file.
